Opening Doors for Girlsin Balochistan Province of Pakistan

Mrs. Fazila Aliani, former provincial minister for Health, Education and Social Welfare is also a women's rights activist, social worker, politician, educationist and
lawyer. She is the mother of two girls and currently lives in Islamabad. In
this interview she talks about her experiences and contributions as a female
teacher/education/political activist in an area where girls are largely
excluded from education, and her vast experience as a social worker in a male
dominated tribal society. Balochistan is one of the provinces of Pakistan.

This document outlines a strategy for accelerating progress on Girls' Education in order to meet the goal of gender equality in primary and secondary education by 2005. This is the first credibility challenge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Education for All (EFA) goals.

Fazila was
born and brought up in an enlightened and literate family. Her father, Mir
Noorullah Khan, a graduate of Bombay University (in present-day India) was
a progressive man. He was inspired by Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of
modern Turkey, and was adamant that women must be educated and taken out of
"purdah"(veil). According to Mrs. Aliani, he dedicated his life to
fighting the control of the traditional Sardars (feudals) who neither allowed
nor encouraged development of education in their areas and did not care about
the welfare of the common man, still less woman. In such an environment,
Noorullah Khan insisted on educating his daughters and taking them out of
"purdah." His wife and her sister were also encouraged to step out of
"purdah" and go to school. He convinced his brother to send two of his
daughters to school despite strong opposition from his family.

At one point
in his life, Mir Noorullah accepted the position of an administrator with the
British colonial government. During his tenure as administrator, he opened
girls' schools wherever he was posted, in spite of opposition from religious
leaders (mullahs) who accused him of being shameless. He called Ms. Hameed Ali
and Ustani Ayesha Khanum from the Education Department in Punjab to set up a
girls' high school in Quetta, the provincial capital. He worked hard to
eradicate poverty from his province. All his hard work and endeavours made him
a very popular person in Balochistan.

Mrs. Fazila
Aliani was a year old when she lost her father. While growing up she would feel
his loss acutely since there was not a single visitor who would not talk about
him and his contributions. From the very beginning, although he was not there
physically, her father's example served to motivate her. Taking him as her
role-model, she resolved to accomplish her father's unfinished mission. Her
mother kept her promise to her husband to educate all five of her daughters.

After his
death, Mrs. Aliani's family house became a kind of a centre for educational and
vocational training. Her older sisters would give free coaching to the girls
from the "mohallah"(neighborhood). When All Pakistan Women's
Association (APWA) started working in Balochistan, they used one of the rooms at
her house as a dispensary. Widows and orphans would come there seeking aid. All
these factors influenced Mrs. Aliani to get involved in social welfare and
politics.

Experience
as a teacher and educationist:

After getting
a degree in Bachelor of Science from a missionary school/college in Quetta, she
taught for two years at the public high school in the provincial capital.
Teaching English and hygiene/physiology to secondary school children proved to
be a rewarding experience. She even taught elementary school children Balochi
embroidery who sold their finished pieces at a local fair, enabling them to
generate enough funds to buy a knitting machine for the school.

"The most
rewarding experience was the way I groomed four young problematic girls to
become model students. One of them was very naughty and hyper but through love,
hard work and dedication, she became an example of good behaviour. Her parents
came personally to thank me. Yet another girl, who could not read or speak properly,
is now a doctor. I instilled confidence in her through love and giving her
individual attention," she says.

Mrs. Fazila
Aliani opened a co-educational institution in Quetta named after her mother-Naz
Dars Jah. Although her mother was not formally educated, she wanted girls to be
educated, self reliant and be independent of men. The school now has 700
hundred students. Parents of girl students specially are not required to pay
any fees, although a nominal amount of Rs.250.00 is charged (about $4.50) per
month. The students are from the lower and lower middle classes whose parents
have never been to school. "Girls gain confidence by studying with
boys." Giving an example she says: "Recently a group of boys and
girls from my school came to attend an inter-school event in Islamabad. They
had no female teacher to chaperone them, only the physical education teacher.
Not only did they win three prizes in different events but the confidence they
displayed amazed me. I could not believe they were from my school."

In 1972, an
organization, Anjuman-e- Khawateen-e-Balochistan was launched by her where
adult education classes were started. Also, a primary school was set up by them
as well as an industrial home, cutting and sewing classes plus Balochi
embroidery classes. This organization was registered on June 17th
and by July 1st the same year, funds were collected from friends and family to
enable drop-outs (meaning girls who were not allowed to continue their
education due to family restrictions, social taboos, poverty or to stay home
and help their mothers with house-hold chores) to carry on with their
education.

"My
teachers from the college I attended would teach these girls to prepare them
for matriculation. On World Education Day, the Governor of Balochistan was given
a reception, where these girls came onto the stage for the first time in their
lives and spoke on education," she added.

"The
major hurdle faced by girls in getting educated was and is poverty. The male
child is given preference because he would be the future bread-earner for the
family whereas it is taken for granted that the female child would eventually
get married and leave, - so why waste money educating her?"

Another reason
given by Mrs. Aliani was the objections raised by male family members and
religious leaders in the community who are against girls' education. For
example, she says that when her mother enrolled her and her sisters in school,
she was sent a message from the local mullah (religious leader) saying,"
You have become a kafir (unbeliever)."

Achievements
and contribution towards girl's education as a political activist:

Balochistan
attained provincial autonomy and elections were held for the first time in the
province in 1970. Mrs. Fazila Aliani was given a ticket to contest the elections
from the National Awami Party (NAP) platform keeping her father's contributions
in mind.

As the first
woman member of the Balochistan Parliament in 1972, she presented resolutions
in the Parliament regarding girls' education in the province. In 1976, she was
appointed as the first woman provincial minister in Balochistan for Health,
Education and Social Welfare. As a minister, she requested the Federal
Government not to impose any restrictions on her work in Balochistan. In her
official capacity, she had reserved seats in the (national) Cadet College for
boys raised from six to twenty-two. The foundation for Khuzdar Engineering
College and Bolan Medical College were also established during this period.
Girls' schools were opened in remote areas wherever possible in a matter of
days. She facilitated teachers' postings by processing their papers within a
day to avoid unnecessary delays. Her Personal Assistant had standing
instructions to allow any woman or student to meet her without an appointment. "Whenever they feel convenient, they should be allowed to enter my office. I would try to
resolve their problems immediately whether they were financial, admissions or
lack of books."

As education
minister, she toured the province extensively, always encouraging students and
solving their problems." I achieved a lot without doing anything outside
the law." She recalls an incident when pressured by the Chief Minister
of Balochistan, who was ordered by the then Prime Minister (of Pakistan) to get
a girl admitted to a college, she bluntly refused to go against the very laws
that she had formulated as the girl did not have the necessary requirements.
The Chief Minister then showed her the Prime Minister's letter. Mrs. Aliani
requested the Chief Minister's permission to reply to that letter herself.

"I wrote
to Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto explaining my position. I also pointed
out that going against the rules would undermine the Party (NAP) and the
confidence people had in me. I brought to his notice that tension was already
brewing in Balochistan against the centre (Federal Government led by the late
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party) and if one goes against the
rules in one district, the sense of deprivation would increase in other areas.
There was no space to accommodate everyone." Mrs. Aliani said that the
Prime Minister remembered her gesture and greatly appreciated it. In a document
he wrote: "The only minister who was working properly is Mrs.
Aliani."

A special seat
was created for girls from the Mekran Division (a coastal area of Balochistan
that is educationally and economically marginalised) in Fatima Jinnah Medical
College through her efforts.

Her tenure as minister lasted only seven months as the military took over through
a coup d'etat in 1977 and martial law declared. Thus she had no time to
formulate any long-term policies. However, she did manage to pass a resolution
in the Balochistan assembly calling for abolition of the Sardari system,
although most of her colleagues in the assembly were sardars. This resolution
never got a chance to become a bill as the NAP government was dissolved within
the year and her party went into the opposition.

In 1979,
Mrs,Aliani took part in the local body polls and was elected councillor. The
credit, she says, goes to women and students with whom she interacted on a
regular basis because of her social work. They ran her campaign as she neither
had vehicles nor money. She competed against 27 men for seven seats.

As member of
Balochistan Provincial Council, educational grants were given by the
ex-provincial minister at the municipal level. She also visited schools and
suggested ways of improving them.

The year 1989 saw her
trying unsuccessfully to open a girls' school in the area ruled by the Bugti
tribe, yet another fierce Baloch tribe. Though Nawab Bugti's government fell,
the people who came after him failed to see her point of view.

"I wish I
had the resources, power and money to open a girls' school there. It would have
been a great achievement for the Baloch people," she says remorsefully.

During the
party-less elections of 1993, she formed a women's organization by the name of
Al-Nisa Women's Rights Association. "I contested from Balochistan along
with six-seven other women who participated at my request. We knew we would not
win but just to raise a voice-that we are here. Before launching the election
campaign, I held a press conference in Islamabad where I stated that fifty
percent of all seats in the national and provincial assemblies, local bodies
and in educational institutions should go to women. This is on record. We
said it first," she adds proudly. Also, fifty percent of development funds
should be spent on women's upliftment, she demanded.

"It was
at the back of my mind that even if we lose, Al-Nisa would continue to serve
the interests of Balochi women and others elsewhere, Mrs. Aliani stated.

Mrs. Aliani's
social work enabled her to get to the grass-root level. While touring
Balochistan in connection with a conference on the meaning of social welfare in
developing countries, she was able to get the men belonging to these remote
areas to pay attention to her. Fazila Aliani would motivate them by telling
them the reason that she could do things for them was because she was educated.
The lack of infrastructure such as roads etc. was and is a major impediment to
spreading education in the province. During one such tour, the former minister inaugurated
a girls' school in an area ruled by the ferocious Marri tribe, where women are
not to be seen, let alone heard. Since there was no road, she had to fly down
there in an army helicopter. This was the time when the Pakistan army was
putting down an insurgency in the tribal areas. No other minister dared to
venture into that area. Mrs. Aliani, with true grit and spirit had the courage
to hold a public rally and address the Marri tribesmen who were involved in the
uprising/insurgency.

Explaining her
attitude towards being a female in a traditional male dominated society, she
said that her early childhood training and her lack of fear of men plus her
personal strengths made it simpler for her. "I have never been afraid of
men," she stated emphatically.

The work she
did as a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) and outside the assembly,
speaking for the rights of Balochi men and women and oppressed people in
general gave the common people confidence in her. Being the only woman
politician in the provincial assembly at the time, Mrs. Aliani would wear a burkha
(traditional veil) through which not even her eyes would show. The day she was
sworn in as an MPA was the day she took off the burkha and wore a Balochi
chador (a shawl). Gradually other Baloch women in society also replaced the
burkha for a chador.

Message for teachers:

Asked on what
message she would want to share with teachers on International Teachers' Day,
she said: "Teachers should work hard and create an environment where
student/teacher rapport could develop. They should teach with love and pay
attention to the individual need of the child. But most of all, they must build
up confidence in the child through love and understanding."